What's wrong with this sentence? Time to reform drug-offense punishments

For decades, the conventional political wisdom has been that officeholders supporting reduced prison penalties face almost certain defeat at the next election.

Even as the state's prison population and spending on prisons grew, that “wisdom” could not be shaken. However, there are some encouraging signs that elected officials are starting to pay closer attention to proposals to reduce prison costs and maintain public safety. Those proposals include reducing or eliminating prison sentences for nonviolent drug users that are one of the key drivers of Illinois' prison population.

Mr. Emanuel's willingness to step forward has advanced the debate about our sentencing laws. Some suggested this testimony was done for "political reasons," but what a refreshing change that would be — advocating a common-sense solution for political gain.

In addition to the Democratic mayor, the legislative panel heard from Marc Levin, head of the national conservative group Right on Crime, whose leaders include Newt Gingrich, Jeb Bush and Grover Norquist. Mr. Levin's message was similar: “We have to focus on imprisoning those people we're afraid of, not those we're just mad at,” said Mr. Levin, who favors shifting resources to the local level to deliver rehabilitation services and reducing recidivism.

BEYOND POLITICS

Even the creation of a joint legislative committee to consider changes in sentencing laws is a sign that informed policymaking finally may be moving beyond the sloganeering stage. That committee also has access to real data and research from the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council, created in 2010 to give the Legislature unbiased and comprehensive analysis of both the fiscal consequences of sentencing changes and the benefits of alternatives to incarceration, like treatment.

It is a mistake to send nonviolent, low-level drug offenders to expensive state prisons instead of providing lower-cost drug treatment outside prison walls, and it is a mistake to make felons out of people in possession of small quantities of illegal drugs. Those mistakes, which Illinois and other states have been making for decades now, have left Illinois spending billions each year with little to show for it except a dangerously crowded prison system.

The mere possession of a gram or less of a controlled substance does not merit felony punishment with a long prison sentence, which makes it extremely difficult for those offenders to find a job and a place to live after prison — a situation that, to say the least, does not help them stay out of trouble after leaving prison.

The facts are on the side of sentencing reform. If we can keep low-level drug offenders out of prison, where they often develop far worse habits and relationships, and if police can be allowed to focus on solving and preventing violent crime, our neighborhoods will be much safer and the city's children will be much more likely to live long enough to lead productive lives.

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John Maki, left, is executive director of the Chicago-based John Howard Association, which works toward adult and juvenile prison reform. Paula Wolff, former president of Governors State University, is director of the Illinois Justice Project.